SemiSweet Chocolate
by RisingXxLawliet
Summary: Mello's pissed that Near is the only one receiving cases. What happens when he decides to prank Near to get back at him? Especially when Near decides to counter with pranks of his own? One-shot. T for Mello's potty mouth and dedicated to Hypermoyashi.


_** So I haven't written fanfiction in a long time, and I'd rather not devote myself to a story I know I won't finish, so today I present to you 'Semi-Sweet Chocolate' :). I've never written a Death Note fanfiction before, considering I finished the series within this month, and absolutely fell in love with the Wammy boys, L actually being my favorite. But because I'm such an amateur writer, I absolutely cannot pull of L's awesomeness in a story. So instead I bring you a story about Near and Mello in their Wammy days :).**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note in any way, shape, or form, nor do I own any of the ideas from the anime/manga. Arigatou~**

_Damn that Near. _Mello thought, searching ferociously around Wammy's House for the snow haired boy.

Unfortunately for Mello, Near had scored higher than him once again on their latest quiz. Normally one would find this childish of Mello, but when one dug deeper, they'd notice that while Mello immersed himself in his studies, Near barely even lifted a finger – except when he was working on a jigsaw puzzle. Or playing with his robots. Or doing something oh-so childish in his stupid manner of silence. Well, at least that's how Mello had put it, though his version contained curses after every other word.

As Mello passed by Roger's office, he could make out the slightest hint of Near's voice through the door, though he had to strain to hear a bit due to the muffled sounds. He pressed his ear closer to the door, listening in on the conversation going on between Wammy's manager and L's first successor.

"Case- You- Mel-," Mello's eyes widened. Was he about to be put on a case? But there was no way Roger would be nonsensical enough to put both him and Near on a case _together_.. Right? Well as much as Mello enjoyed pressing his face against ebony that smelled strangely like shoe polish, he'd rather be included in the happenings past the wood. He turned the golden handle and let himself in, Roger pausing in whatever words he was saying to look up at the blonde.

"Oh, good evening Mello. Is there something you need?" Roger asked, watching as L's oldest successor glared at the young boy seated on the floor, jigsaw puzzle at said person's feet. Mello's eye twitched noticably when the albino boy refused to acknowledge his presence, or rather didn't care about his presence entirely.

"Roger, I'm sick and tired of Near getting all the recognition! Put me on a case! Let me prove my abilities!" Mello said to the aging man, a defensive hand at his leather covered chest.

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Roger responded after a moment, situating the circular spectacles on his face. "You must continue your studies." Mello growled, biting harshly into the chocolate bar taken from his pocket. After getting a satisfyingly resounding snap from the candy, Mello raised his free hand and pointed it in Near's direction, the later looking uninterestedly up at the tall blonde.

"Oh yeah? Well then why does he get to be put on cases, huh? Because he's better than me? Because he's L's first in line? Pah!" Mello said, looking away from the old man in frustration. Near simply stared as Mello's grip on his chocolate bar became tighter and tighter, his fist becoming chalk white from his grasp. Near stood, jigsaw puzzle tucked under his left arm and bowed slightly to Roger.

"Roger, I will be taking my leave now," he said, his finger twisting one of his snowy curls. With that, Near disapeared to his personal confined space, leaving Mello and Roger in the office. The elder of the two shook his head at the blonde and sighed, giving him a disapproving glance.

"Mello, there's no need to be acting like this. Yes, Near does have higher grades than you," Mello glared at him though he pointedly ignored the gesture. "but isn't that more the reason to continue studying? You are very intelligent, Mello, and it would be a waste to see you picking on the boy while you could be indulging in studies," Roger finished, gazing at Mello who refused to look him in the eye. The later merely grunted, snapping off a piece of his semi-sweet chocolate.

"Whatever," he huffed, turning and slamming the door of the office closed after taking his leave.

Matt strolled down Wammy's halls, pounding furiously against the buttons of his Nintendo. "C'mon, c'mon... YES! New high score!" he announced to no one in particular, filling out his name in the digital device and closing the screen when he was done. He gave a satisfied nod and wedged the gaming system into his jean pocket after taking out a cigarette and lighter from said pocket. He lighted the tar filled stick and took a long drag, making sure to wave around the smoke with his hand so that he didn't get in trouble with Roger once more for smoking indoors. He arrived in front of his and Mello's room shortly and reached for the door that seemed to almost never be locked.

When he walked in, he was greeted with the sight of Mello scrounging around in _his_ trunk. Matt lifted his goggles onto his forehead and raised an eyebrow as Mello snarled in frustration at being at loss for whatever he was looking for.

"Oy, Mello. What'cha doing in my trunk?" he asked, not mad as much as curious. Mello, in all his leather clad glory, turned towards his best friend and sighed.

"Hey, have you got any hair dye?" he asked, not seeming ashamed at all from looking through his friend's items. Matt stared at him curiously.

"Why would I have hair dye? And more importantly, what are you going to use it for? 'Cause I'm just gonna say that you'd look _terrible_ if you dyed your hair black or something," he said, taking another drag from the cigar hanging from his mouth. Mello shook his head

"No, not _my_ hair, Near's," he said, turning up his bed to look for the hair product. "I know I have some hair dye somewhere.." Matt sighed and crouched down next to Mello who was searching around his pile of junk.

"Look man, I know Near gets on your nerves, but is turning him into the Greg Ayres really necessary?" Mello nodded, a sly grin lighting on his face when his hand came in contact with the bottle of hair dye.

"Matt, just watch my back."

Matt stood outside of Near's room while Mello was inside Near's bathroom, tinkering with his shampoo bottle.

"This is what you get, bastard Near," Mello said to himself as he emptied the contents of the hair dye into Near's toiletries. Suddenly he heard three loud _bangs_ resounding against the wall, Matt's signal that Near was coming. Mello quickly got rid of any evidence of his arrival and placed the cap back onto the shampoo bottle, the two boys sneaking out of Near's room through the window. Luckily, Near's room was only on the second floor and the two managed to make it onto the ground safely by jumping down onto a pile of leaves some kids had made on that Fall day. Mello started snickering after he got up, taking off a large chunk of his chocolate with his teeth while dusting himself off.

"Alright, this'll be awesome!" he said cheerily as Matt merely nodded, only focusing on the Nintendo that he had already whipped out.

Dinner came by slowly that night, mostly due to Mello's eagerness to see Near, but the waiting was worth it when he saw Near step out with bright _green_ hair. He openly started laughing, salty substances threatening to release from his tear ducts. The rest of Wammy's stared at Near for a few seconds before snickering as well, the image of such a stoic boy bringing laughter into their hearts. Near immediately turned to Mello, shooting him a daring glance before seating himself at the long dinner table in silence. A couple of people cleared their throats, realizing their laughing at him was slight rude, but Mello was still chuckling in his seat beside Matt who was, honestly, too immersed in his game to care.

"D-damn, N-near! G-green i-is so your c-color!" Mello laughed at the once-snowy haired boy's expense. But all laughter stopped when Near stared Mello directly in the eye and smirked.

"So that's how you want to play? Well then, I accept your challenge," he whispered to Mello before turning to the dinner that was set before him. Mello blinked a couple of times before fully comprehending Near's words.

"This.. will be good."

_"NEAR YOU BASTARD!" _Mello's voice rang throughout Wammy's House. Matt burst into their bathroom, eyes wide now that Mello's scream had awoken him.

"What? What's wrong?" Matt asked, turning to Mello who was scratching at himself all over.

"That damned Near! He put itching powder in all of my clothes!" Mello yelled, reaching over to rake his back. Matt grabbed a bottle of lotion from the bathroom counter.

"Here, use this. It should help," Matt said, handing him the bottle. Mello nodded, taking the bottle and shutting the bathroom door. Not five minutes later he heard Mello scream once more.

"That. Little. Twerp!" He screamed, slamming open the bathroom door. Matt fell over laughing at Mello's state. To put it shortly, Near turned Mello black, no racism intended.

"Okay, Mello, you gotta admit, Near's pretty good. What was that he used? Silver nitrate?" Matt asked, holding back a few chuckles.

"Yeah, and you're right. I gotta give him more credit, that damned twerp," Mello mumbled, going to take a shower to wash the black off his skin.

So as it turns out, Near had also tampered with the silver nitrate itself, concluding in Mello being black for a few days, later fading into a sickly looking gray for a while. Matt had to admit, it was even a bit comical for him considering the nurse had come in the middle of dinner and demanded taking tests on Mello, thinking he had explosive diarrhea or something. Everyone had a good laugh that night, despite Mello threatening death on anyone who spoke of the moment again.

The next few weeks were a blur of pranks between Wammy's top two students, the pranks ranging from colorization and loopiness to hair loss and getting stuck on the ceiling fan for a day. Though most would reprimand the two boys for their childish acts, Roger had to admit that this was a nice change of pace, and left the boys to their competition.

That is, until Near crossed the line.

It was a merry winter day, all enjoying the company of the wisps of white blowing through the courtyard. A certain ivory-skinned Wammy boy sat alone under a barren tree, curling a piece of his milky locks around his finger. He stared blankly into the thick layer of snow, his calculating eyes penetrating the blanket as if he could see the thin sparks of spring below. His eyes narrowed as they reached an odd bump in the blanket, the boy inching over the slightest to uncover what was hidden. Near cupped the snow away, revealing a piece of tin foil, strangely resembling the material used for Mello's never ending supply of chocolate. A smirk came to his lips, a devilish gleam lighting the black depths of his irises.

_Oh, this _will _be good, Mello. I assure you of it._

He got up and dropped the wrapper into a nearby bin, smiling slightly at Mello who was across the yard, the later narrowing his orbs at him. As sly as a fox, Near managed to get into Wammy's kitchen without being seen, thankful for the lack of any of the other children in there at the moment. He reached up as high as he could towards the upper cupboards, inching his fingers until they grasped the tiny silver knob situated on the door. He quickly flung it open, a chuckle escaping his near silent lips as he read a warning message set up in the front of the cupboard.

_**Do **__**NOT**__** touch**__**! This belongs to me, L's next successor!**_

Near giggled once more when he read a note scrawled under Mello's with an arrow pointed to said person's message. He quickly recognized it as Matt's handwriting.

Since when did Near eat that much chocolate?

Yes, the cupboard was stocked with Mello's chocolate. White, dark, 70%: He really had it all. Well, not for long at least. Near took a sack that was coincidentally in the drawer right next to him, shoving all of the chocolate into it with his tiny little fingers. He tied a knot at the top of the burlap bag before giving a satisfied nod and taking a stroll through the orphanage to find a place to hide it. Near, being at the top amongst prodigies, was not at all stupid, which was why he decided to hide it in a place so obvious that Mello wouldn't even be able to fathom where it was – with his best friend. Near walked over to Matt who was seated in a fluffy arm chair in the deserted living room, his fingers tapping away on his game system. Matt gave one glance at Near, smirking when he noticed the sack he was holding, looking to be the exact weight of the amount of chocolate Mello _had _in the cupboard. The fanfiction reading anime addicts sitting in front of their computers like losers with no lives gave an audible gasp as Matt _stopped _playing his video game to speak to Near.

"You want me to hide that for you?" Matt asked, staring at the shorter boy who was now on par with his height due to his own sitting position. Near nodded.

"Yes if you will," he answered shortly. Matt laughed for a second before taking the offered sack and grinning at Near.

"You do realize that Mello will go insane when he finds out what you've done, right? And you do realize that you're responsible for any bodily or mental harm that comes to me accepting this bag?" he questioned, a playful gleam behind his yellow lensed eyes.

"Seeing Mello's fluctuating sanity levels is what I plan to achieve through this," Near stated bluntly, his finger wrapped around his curls once more. "And besides, it's not like either of us are going to get out of this unscathed."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Mello cursed, running around Wammy's in search of his chocolate. Several children ducked out of the way of Hell's wrath when Mello stalked down the hall towards the living room where he _knew _the white haired twerp was. His eyes flamed when he saw Near sitting in the corner of the room, looking as if he had nothing to do with the loss of his chocolate as he placed another piece of his jigsaw puzzle down on the board. "YOU! WHERE THE FUCK IS MY CHOCOLATE?" Mello screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the snowy haired boy. Near smirked and looked in the other direction.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said a small grin peeking at the corner of his lips as he twirled his ivory locks. Just as Mello snarled, grabbed Near's collar and prepared to leave a mark on his annoyingly pale face that he wouldn't forget, a series of footsteps sounded towards the living room. All in the room snapped towards the door after hearing the words muttered.

"Matt, I'd like to thank you for your thoughtfulness. How did you know I loved chocolate?" Mello froze as he watched Roger open the door, a piece of _his _chocolate in the old man's mouth.

"CHOCOLATE!"

_**Fin**_

_**So...that's it. O.o I'm going to go ahead and tell you all that I'm only 13 years old, so please respect that my writing abilities are not at their full potential yet. I am proud to say that I did somewhat like how this one-shot turned out and I do feel that my writing abilities have increased considering I wrote this story in a mere two nights. Arigatou for reading this everyone~ Death Note FTW!**_


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